


Oh, How I Wish

by jacklles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M, Fluff, Funny, Humor, Kinda, Magic is Real, awkward girl, but like, he's still in the band, idk - Freeform, it is pretty funny, soul mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 19:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacklles/pseuds/jacklles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haley's life is boring until Niall pops in her bed one night. She is delighted and a little freaked out. He is mainly freaked out. She becomes even more delighted when they discover for some reason they have to be with each other for the next foreseeable future. Niall is still freaked out. Poor Niall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Late Night Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> yooooooooooooo magic doe  
> So I had this idea one time and it kinda took off and to be completely honest I'm not entirely sure where its going but yeah I hope you appreciate Haley's character because she is a true fangirl.  
> Also let me know if you actually laughed at all because I like to think I'm funny.

Haley was _so_ in trouble.

It was 7:20 in the morning, the bus was leaving at 7:30 and she had barely gotten dressed. Yes, she had woken up with plenty enough time to get ready, but for a reason she couldn't explain, the hour had melted away and here she was struggling to get into her sweatpants _which was just ridiculous._

Haley was almost positive that no one in the history of the world had to ever struggle into sweatpants. She sighed angrily as she jumped slightly to get her favorite red pants over her big, Louis Tomlinson-sized bottom. She knew that she needed to lose weight, but Nutella was a thing so she’d just have to be content with her overly-pear shaped body.

Anyway, if she was _really_ being honest with herself, she knew perfectly well why she was running so late.

Yesterday she had finally given in and bought it.

Ladies and gentlemen, Haley McDermott had bought a poster of _him._ Her one true love; her soul mate. The guy that, though he didn't know it yet, she would spend the rest of her life with.

Niall Horan.

And it wasn't just any old poster either.

_Oh no._

If Haley was actually going to stick on her wall someone who would continually stare at her while she was doing homework, reading, sleeping, dressing, _un_ dressing, etc., she wanted to make sure it was a darn good picture. And she had to say that she was quite pleased with her choice; of course, if anyone would come into her room she would probably be mortified, but at that point she hadn't really cared. The specific picture she had chosen was of him without a shirt, which she thought was perfectly acceptable. She only bought one, so she might as well have made it count.

The next morning ( _this_ morning, if you haven't been keeping track) she was pleasantly surprised to wake up and see his beautiful face, hair, eyes, chest, entire being beside her. Well, not _right_ beside her, it was on the wall across from the bed, but close enough right? So naturally she spent the next hour admiring and memorizing every detail of the poster (just in case, you know, a fire burned down the house and she wouldn't have time to take the poster down before the flames engulfed her room; it was strictly a precautionary measure).

Unfortunately, by the time she was done she had ten minutes left to get dressed, eat, pack a lunch, and get all her books together for the library.

No, not for school; _for the stupid library._

Haley laughed to herself at how lame it sounded even in her head; even though it was summer she still had to get up early to go to her job as a librarian.

Exciting, right?

Haley interrupted her own thoughts to scavenge her room, looking for a clean shirt. When she couldn't find one she simply slipped on the one she wore yesterday. Haley was _so_ classy she was surprised they hadn’t fired her yet, though she knew the only reason she was still employed at the Athens Public Library is because no one else wanted the job.

Mostly, she spent the long, monotonous hours behind the circulation desk going on tumblr and reading One Direction, Harry Potter, and Pokémon fan fiction. She knew it was a strange way to spend her time, but the stories were strangely addictive, especially the Dramione ones.

She had never really shipped Draco and Hermione until she started reading the fanfics, but now Dramione was her OTP...and no she didn't really have a life if you were wondering, which is exactly why she was working at a library that boasted of a whole two books. Well, not _literally_ two books, but there was no audio book or DVD section and the new arrivals were from 1999, if that tells you anything.

"Okay, I've got my clothes, my books, my nonexistent phone, my barely existent ipod...what else am I missing?" she muttered to herself.

And then she remembered.

"Ah, money," she grumbled, "the ever elusive thing that I never seem to have enough of..."

She hurriedly grabbed 20 bucks from her dresser (since she obviously didn't have time to pack a lunch) and ran out of her bedroom door. It was exactly 7:28 and she had barely enough time to kiss Nick goodbye and grab a Nutri-grain bar to eat along the way.

She ran to the bus stop just as it pulled up and, quite frazzled now, found a seat in the front. Haley checked her reflection in the bus window, only to wish she hadn't. Her long, thick, wavy and downright _cantankerous_ hair looked like a tumbleweed. _Haley shook her head, she couldn’t believe she forgot to brush her hair, though_ it figures with the way her day was going...

Fortunately, the library was its usual boring self, and Haley even got to finish a Dramoine story and read a Snape and Lily one...though the latter basically scared her virgin eyes and she had to spend the next hour after reading it trying to purge her mind of the graphic details by listening to Disney songs. The whole time she was working, which was 8 am until 6 pm, there was not a single visitor to the library, and she was perfectly fine with it. Let the citizens of Athens die ignorant and glued to their ipads for all she cared...

She caught the 6 o-clock bus home and stepped into her house as Nick yelled down the hallway, "It's about time you got home! I haven't had anyone to play Assassin's Creed with!"

Haley rolled her eyes at the nerve of her little brother. "I'm sorry I was busy earning the money to buy your Christmas presents, you ungrateful punk!"

She walked down to his room and opened the door, "You know the only reason I put up with you is ‘cause you're cute?"

Even at 12 Haley could tell that her little brother was going to break some girls' hearts in a few years. He had olive skin (like hers), golden brown eyes (…unlike hers) and untidy jet black hair (also unlike hers). He was small and wiry, and his thin, elvish face almost always had a mischievous look to it. Nick was also the joy of her life and was the only reason she wasn't booking a plane ticket to England to beg Niall Horan for his hand in marriage...Okay he wasn't the _only_ reason; the other was she would never have that type of money with the meager amount the library thought to pay her.

After a ridiculously small amount of persuading on Nick's part, Haley spent the rest of the night watching him disappear into the crowds and kill random innocent bystanders (Nick never did like playing by the rules) until their parents got home with Chinese take-out.

Through a mouthful of cashew nut chicken Haley told her mother and father about her exciting day of doing nothing and getting paid for it. They also all listened attentively to Nick's play-by-play on how he quite spectacularly jumped and eliminated a merchant selling knives using only his feet and a watermelon.

Haley watched her family contentedly as they all laughed at Nick's story and thought that there was nothing she wanted more than to just be with her family. Well, there _was_ that one thing, but it was so ridiculous that she had stopped wishing for Niall whenever she saw a shooting star or blew out her birthday candles.

The rest of the night passed with them happily arguing over what movie to watch, and finally settling for Star Wars Episode II (they were all big nerds at heart).

Being unusually tired and knowing she will have to get up for work Haley went to bed around 11 o' clock. Settling into her comfortable bed, she snuggled next to her stuffed Chikorita doll and as she drifted off to sleep, her subconscious wished for the final time, _I wish Niall was here with me..._

Exactly one minute later a loud pop and the smell of fresh mangoes filled the dark bedroom. Haley woke with a start as a large, heavy, and dense object fell from the ceiling and slammed into her.

~~~~~

Niall was groggy and _completely_ disoriented. One moment he was sleeping in his nice warm bed in London, and the next he was jerked awake with the sensation of a huge vacuum sucking him up. He couldn't see anything and it felt like he was flying through space at breakneck speed. The feeling was unlike anything Niall had ever experienced before and for about thirty seconds it seemed that invisible ropes had wrapped around his chest and were squeezing so tightly that he couldn't take a breath.

Everything was flying. Flying past him. He could almost feel wisps of something brush at his face but he couldn’t see anything.  It was dark. _So dark_. If he could have closed his eyes he doubted he would have noticed a difference, but he was moving so fast that he couldn’t. All he knew was darkness and burning in his lungs and wanting to scream but not making a sound.

Niall was, for the most part, a pretty chill person. Most of the time he didn't panic, but he was definitely making an exception this time.

Niall Horan was in full freak-out mode.

When Niall was sure that his lungs were about to burst from lack of air, the invisible ropes suddenly and miraculously eased, only to release him in what he thought was hundreds of feet up in the air. Niall was pretty sure his heart literally did stop for about 3 beats, which was about how long he fell.

He let out a grunt (it sounded kind of like an ‘OOOFF') as he crashed into something bouncy, lumpy and soft, then instantly started gulping in huge mouthfuls of air, willing the burning sensation in his lungs to subside.

Niall still couldn't see much, though the temperature and light slipping through the cracks of a door told him he was in a room. The comfortable thing he was lying on was then most likely someone's bed, and the lumpy (and now moving) mass he was on could very possible be the owner of the bed.

The realization hit him just as something else hit him.

Hard.

In the face.

"Ooouuuuch!" he rubbed his cheek, it was smarting and stinging from the surprisingly forceful and accurate punch of whoever's bed he was unwillingly invading.

"Woah, you aren't Nick, unless you sped through puberty since 11:00...uh _are_ you Nick, by any chance?" a girl's voice asked from the right of him. "I guess you're not," she continued, her light southern accent gradually becoming more apparent. Niall was surprised; he would've shut up if a random stranger had jumped in his bed. "Since you seem about 100 lbs. heavier than Nicky; he's 12 if you wanted to know." Niall thought it was interesting that she was rambling so much, when he would have reacted much worse if he was in the same situation.

"Erm-" he started, but was interrupted by the girl's gasp.

"-Oh! Um, so you actually are a real person, and not just a dream? Because at first I thought I was dreaming, I mean this has _never_ happened to me before and I obviously thought you were my little brother ‘cause he used to do that a lot. I'm sorry I punched you, I hope it didn't hurt; does it hurt?" Niall almost laughed out loud because she was _apologizing_ to someone she didn’t know who was clearly invading her personal space.

"No, not anymore," Niall cut in before she could start up again. "I'm really sorry that I've barged in on you while you were sleeping. I have no idea how I got here, so can you tell me where I am?" He waited, holding his breath; hopefully it wasn't too far out of the way...although _anywhere_ in America would be out of the way, and, judging by her accent, Niall had a feeling that's where he ended up.

"Well," she started, and Niall had a feeling that she was going to tell him way more than just where he was, "you are technically in my room, but I guess that doesn't help does it? Um, you are in the great city of Athens, Georgia. My mom wanted to live in Athens because she's Greek and my dad wanted to live in Georgia because he's Irish...although now that I think about it, his reasoning is quite illogical. I mean, most Irishman go to Boston, but my dad never did what most Irishman do. He hates beer, doesn't cuss and is a huge wuss when it comes to fighting. His name is Declan McDermott; he was named after the 6th century Irish St. Declan. Don't you just love that name? I sure do; it rolls off the tongue _quite_ well if you ask me-"

"Well with all due respect ma'am, I didn't ask but yes I do like that name. And I'm Irish too, though I guess I'm more Irish than your dad, cause I _do_ do all that stuff."

Niall still couldn't see her, but they had both shifted enough so that he was on one end sitting up and she was on the other. It was strange having a conversation, albeit a very one-sided one, with a random girl in her bed and it _wasn't_ because he had picked her up at a club. Not that he ever did that, but it was the only situation he could think of that something like this would happen.

"Yeah I thought your accent sounded Irish, your voice also sounds kind of familiar. What's your name by the way? Mine is-"

"Niall," he said before she could give him the etymology of _her_ name as well. "Me name's Niall Horan."

Aaaand he was met with silence.

Dead, _blessed_ silence.

Niall thought he should have told her his name a long time ago if it shut her up that fast.

The quiet extended for so long that he thought that she had either fell asleep, passed out, or was figuring out the origin and meaning of _his_ name.

"Um, are you still there? You're not like dead or unconscious or anything right?" Niall ventured, hoping she would respond and that he didn't just kill her from pure shock. Though, she could be planning his death in her head as well, but Niall tried to look on the positive side of things.

"Yeah I'm here. Haley McDermott is here with _Niall freaking Horan._ " She breathed, and Niall groaned silently to himself, "You know, if I knew better I would say you are _the_ Niall Horan, as in the only Irish member _One Direction_ , the biggest boy band on Earth. Did you know-"

"Yes, most likely I do. Sorry to cut you off, but could I turn on a light or something?"

"Oh you can cut me off whenever you like," she said pleasantly, "I talk a lot whenever I'm really nervous but I think I should turn on the light since you don't really know where the light switch is." She then proceeded to wiggle out of the bed and, from what Niall could hear, scuffle around the room until one second later in which the room filled with light.

The first thing Niall noticed was that the room was large and scrupulously clean. The bed took up one wall, which faced a huge bookcase filled with dozens of...you know...books. Covering the middle of the floor was an orange and blue polka-dot rug, thick and fluffy looking. The walls were covered with all sorts of posters, from cute dogs and horses to dragons, and there was one lone picture of an actual person...

...who just happened to be himself...

...shirtless...

Wanting to look at _anything_ else other than his scrawny, half-naked body, Niall quickly turned his attention to Haley. The first thing he noticed about her was that she had large dark blue eyes turned up at the corners, framed by thick eyelashes, long wavy strawberry blond hair and dark olive skin.

_Irish hair and Greek skin. Interesting._ Niall thought it was a strange combination, but it looked like it suited her.

Realizing he was staring, Niall averted his eyes, just as she whispered, "Oh my, you're even more beautiful in real life."

_Way_ too late he became aware of the fact that she wasn't talking about his face (she wasn't even _looking_ at his face) and that he wasn't wearing anything except for boxers. Niall quickly grabbed the purple comforter that was on her bed and wrapped it around his chest, trying (and failing) to retain some of his modesty and dignity.

_Well, this got awkward really fast._

"Uh...yeah would you mind if I borrowed a shirt and some pants? I don't know about you, but I would feel a whole lot more comfortable with some clothes on."


	2. Together...Forever?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this is going kind of slow, it will pick up by chapter 4 I promise! For now it's just developing Niall and Haley's relationship basically.

“So, you’re  _sure_  you’re not a wizard or something? Maybe a blond, Irish Harry Potter?” Haley asked, slightly more hopefully than necessary.

Haley was back on her bed after getting a pair of pajama pants from her dresser for Niall. She figured that they would fit him since they were for guys anyway. At first he protested not being given a shirt, but they soon made a deal that as long as Haley wouldn’t ramble, Niall had to keep his chest uncovered. (Niall had only felt a  _little_  bit like a prostitute at the compromise, and he was considerably more relaxed with some pants on.)

 “ _This_ ,” he said, gesturing vaguely around him, “was the first magical thing that’s ever happened to me, so maybe I’m just a late bloomer. But I’m almost positive I am  _not_  Harry Potter.”

Haley was glad his voice was so lovely to listen to; otherwise she would have tuned him out and just stared at his chest.

“Well, I guess you can sleep here for the night, we’ve got an extra bedroom. Then after work we can tell my parents what happened and hopefully my dad won’t mind buying you a ticket back to England.” Niall smiled a little at Haley’s astonishingly terrible job at hiding the disappointment in her voice.

“Or,” he said (not wanting to be the reason she was depressed), “I can crash here and see what happens tomorrow. Who knows? I might have to stay longer.” Niall was then rewarded with the biggest smile he had seen from Haley all night.

Thankfully Nick and her parents had gone to bed after the movie, so when Haley showed Niall where he was to sleep, they were met with no one say the cat, Sergio. Niall plopped onto the bed and stretched luxuriously, and Haley thought he looked just like Sergio. Well, a hot shirtless, Irish Sergio…

Haley reluctantly left him to go to sleep and she made her way to her room. Just as she was settling into her comforter and Squirtle again a loud pop broke the barely established silence and the bizarre smell of mangoes once again permeated throughout the room.

Haley let out a soft grunt as a body once again fell on her, and exclaimed, “Is that you again Niall, or am I going to get each member of one direction throughout the night?!” She was strangely giddy and annoyed at the same time; giddy from the idea that Zayn, Harry, Liam, and Louis would also be falling on her throughout the night (with or without clothes on), but annoyed that her much-needed sleep was continually being interrupted.

The body sighed loudly, “Nah, it’s me again. I don’t know  _why_  this is happening. I’m sorry for falling on you again,” he apologized from the end of the bed, and Haley thought that even if she didn’t get any sleep, she’d let Niall Horan fall on her as much as he wanted.

“no, it’s okay,” Haley replied, and she felt the bed move a little as Niall squirmed off of it and padded softly out of her room, “good night Niall,” she quietly called out to him. Haley was about to feel incredibly awkward, saying good night to a superstar like they were friends or something, when she had only met him twenty minutes ago. But she heard his deep, wonderful voice drift into her room, “Night Haley.”

She smiled ridiculously to herself and was about to start day (or is it night?) Dreaming about her unreal experience (because she was  _not_  going to be able to sleep anytime soon with the excitement of tonight) when the now dreaded pop and mango scent disturbed her thoughts for the third time that night.

“Now this is just getting absurd!” Haley whisper-shouted as Niall fell on her  _yet again_.

“I think I might just be better off sleeping in here tonight, if that’s okay with you,” Niall groaned as he pulled himself up from the awkward position he had landed in. Haley turned on her bedside lamp so he wouldn’t trip over something while finding a place to sleep.

“It’s more than okay with me,” Haley said too eagerly, and Niall cocked an eyebrow at her. “I mean, whatever it takes for you to stop falling on me, I’m starting to get bruises; you’re heavy for a short girl. Do you need me to get some pillows or blankets or anything?” She added quickly as Niall was scrutinizing her rug, as if he was debating how good of a replacement it would be for an actual bed.

“No, I think this will be fine for now, I’ve slept for most of the night anyway; before I was abducted I mean.” He added with a grin, and Haley’s heart fluttered at how adorable he looked with braces. 

Niall sprawled on his back with his arm stretched over his head, his finders dangling near the edge of her rug. Haley practically groaned audibly and _sweet baby Jesus_ , she knew it would take most of her self-control not to convince him to just join her in bed.

What was her life anyway?

Oh yeah that’s right, she didn’t have one.

Well at least it wouldn’t hurt as much then when her parents killed her if they walked in and saw their daughter in bed with a boy, who was  _shirtless_  no less. They would then automatically assume that Haley and Niall had done  _stuff_  when Haley couldn’t even imagine them doing  _stuff_. She would black out every time she did try; it was always too much for her virgin mind.

Once, that had happened while she was playing assassin’s creed with Nick (aka watching him break the rules and completely mess up the storyline). Poor Nick had thought she had died and Haley had to spend ten minutes explaining to the emergency responders that  _yes_  she was completely fine and  _no_  she did not want to go the hospital for further examinations. After they had finally left, Haley flayed Nick within an inch of his life and then gave him full and thorough first-aid lessons. That was possibly one of the most humiliating experiences she had ever gone through, and all because she had tried to picture her and the boy lying on her rug…messing around in her bed.

 “…Haley?”

Haley’s eyes flew open as her ears practically hummed at how her name sounded coming out of his mouth. Her dad still had a slight Irish accent, like when he said things with “th,” but Niall’s was full on and she loved how he said her name. She let out a mangled form of acknowledgement; she wasn’t prepared to have to talk again, but she cleared her throat and tried again.

“mmhhhmmm?” She waited expectantly as they approached the time of the night at sleepovers (she had to think about that in the strictest sense of the word, so that she wouldn’t black out again) where deep-dark-secrets were told or where Niall would confess his sudden and undying love for Haley. They would then ride off together in the sunset and move to Ireland and live in a gingerbread house forever.

“Could you turn off the light?”

Urgh. Go figure.

“Oh, yeah sure. Sorry about that I was just lost in my thoughts I guess.” As the room became pitch black once more Haley hit herself in the face repeatedly with her stuffed Squirtle, but then felt bad because Squirtle didn’t deserve to be smashed into her face over and over again. It was her fault she had such an overactive imagination. She sighed quietly and buried her face into her pillow so Niall couldn’t hear her yell out of frustration.

***

Niall squinted as sunlight streamed through the window and groaned softly as he moved his neck. The rug  _was_ comfortable…about 5 hours ago, now the fluff was flattened out and Niall was aching  _everywhere_.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wake up. Gingerly Niall sat up and cracked open his eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness. Something out of the corner of his caught his attention and he turned to see Haley sitting up cross-legged on her bed, staring unashamedly at him.

“Good morning,” Niall shuddered inwardly at how rough his voice sounded and winced as Haley shivered slightly as well. She probably thought he sounded like a chain smoker or a serial killer, though she  _was_  the one staring at him while he slept…

“Morning, I was going to make you breakfast, but every time I walked out of my room, you started sliding across the floor towards me. At first I thought I was having one of those paranormal activity nightmares again and started freaking out, but then I remembered how you kept on apparating on top of me every time you left so I didn’t faint and only started hyperventilating.”

Niall blinked rapidly, incredulous that one, she was willing to make him breakfast (yea for southern hospitality), and two, she could talk so calmly about hyperventilating  as if it was an everyday thing.

“So, we are gonna have to do everything together then? What about personal stuff, like changing and taking a shower and poo—”

“—I have a theory about this… _thing_.” Niall could tell she was blushing at his ‘taking a shower’ comment and he could imagine what she was thinking. He really hoped they wouldn’t have to shower together.

 _Okay_  the male-hormonal-teenager part of him was looking forward to it, but the slowly maturing, still-remembering-what-his-mom-taught-him-about-being-a-gentlemen-and-not-a-total-scumbag part of him was appalled at the thought of having to put Haley in such an awkward position. Well. And the fact that she would probably faint and hit her head on the tub and _die_ and Niall really didn’t want that to happen.

I think that our… _whatever-this-is_ forces us to be within a certain distance of each other at all times. I don’t think that we will have to…uh…shower together. I’m hoping we just have to be in the same room, so if you take a shower, I would have to wait either right outside the door or just inside the bathroom. For the  _really_  personal stuff…I guess we’ll just have to close our eyes and turn our backs.”

All of the sudden the once comfortable room was hot and stuffy, and Niall became increasingly aware of the fact that he was _still_  shirtless.

“Okay, well can we kind of take this one step at a time? Cause this is still really strange and I will make  _you_  breakfast if I can get a shirt. I know I got nothing to flaunt,” Niall said self-deprecatingly (to which Haley snorted at), “but I think it would be better for both of us if i were fully clothed.”

Haley reluctantly led Niall to her parent’s empty room, and as he was pulling one of her dad’s t-shirts over his head, Haley said, “Uh, right now it’s seven in the morning and I have to go to catch the bus for work at seven-thirty. And by ‘I’, I mean us. So, if we take it one step at a time, the steps should just follow each other very quickly, at least until we get to work.”

Niall poked his head out of the t-shirt and pulled the rest of it over his torso. Not catching Haley’s disappointed look he lifted his head to her and flashed her a grin.

I guess I better make good on that offer of breakfast then huh?”

Twenty-nine minutes later Haley and Niall breathlessly took their seats on the bus, grinning wildly at their close call. Haley had found out the hard way that the ‘offer of breakfast’ extended to Niall making her a bowl of cereal, so she had given in and spent the next 20 minutes making both of them a genuine southern meal (as genuine as it could be) of biscuits and gravy, bacon, grits and sausage.

 _Yes_ , the biscuits were frozen ready-made, the gravy from a can, the bacon reheated in the microwave, the grits from a package and the sausage leftover from last night’s dinner, but Niall thought it was great considering it was made in such short notice. Niall had gorged himself and Haley allowed him to relax with his pants unbuttoned only until she had gotten her jacket and her iPod.

 By the time they had stepped outside Haley’s house, the bus had just pulled up at the stop down the street and Haley and Niall had to sprint to catch it in time. Thankfully the bus driver wasn’t a complete jerk, so he waited for them.

“…So…where…do…you…work?” Niall laughed at how out of breath he was, apparently doing tons of 2 hour concerts didn’t help build up stamina for a little running…

***

Haley was only somewhat ashamed at telling Niall that she worked at the least exciting or interesting place in the world. When they arrived and after Haley had unlocked the doors, Niall looked around with a look that told Haley he was trying desperately to find something nice to say about it, and Haley’s heart warmed at his attempt. 

“Niall, I know it’s in bad shape, so you don’t have to try and be polite and say something like, ‘well this is something else,’ cause it just ends up sounding fake and stupid…sorry if you were actually going to say that.”

“Nah, I’ve never been in an American library so I was gonna say that I now know why.” He stated matter-of-factly and Haley rolled her eyes at his faux-innocent look.

“Just to let you know, Mr. Illiterate, not all libraries are as cruddy as this one, okay? Besides, the best part about this is that there’s internet access and a great selection of magic books here.”

Niall narrowed his eyes in confusion, “And magic books would be a good thing why?”

Haley sighed in mock exasperation, enjoying Niall’s raised eyebrows and small smirk. She didn’t answer right away, instead choosing to walk behind the circulation desk and set her stuff down. She then made her way to the far back right of the nonfiction section and feeling the ropes tighten around his chest again—and not wanting to relive  _that_  experience anytime soon—Niall followed her.

Haley proceeded to pull several thick, old and dusty books from the shelf and started handing to Niall to carry. Ten minutes later Niall was groaning under the weight of holding so many books and Haley was  _still_  looking for “just one more!” 

“Well while you do that I’m just gonna go and put these down!” Niall gasped and Haley looked over at him and laughed to herself as she saw him practically waddle to the front desk. She shook her head, still smiling as she spotted the book she had been looking for all along.

“Ah! Here we go…” she muttered to herself as she followed after Niall, anxious to see if these ‘magic books’ had anything to say about the craziness that’s going on between them. 

 


	3. Fainting and Fried Chicken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again...the title says it all

“OKAY!” Haley said loudly as she slammed the books onto the desk, making Niall jump in his chair. “Sorry I can also get loud when I’m nervous. It’s a bad habit I know.” She explained, scooting another spinney chair towards her.

“Why are you nervous? I mean, we’ve already slept in the same room so we’re practically married now.” Niall knew the moment the words left his mouth that he’d regret them. He had meant it as a joke, but he was starting to think that he should hold off on that until she was comfortable with him…which might be never. Sure enough, Haley’s eyes glazed over and her eyelids fluttered shut as she started to fall.

Niall cursed in Gaelic, hurrying to catch her before she hit the floor. “Way to go Horan, now look what you done.” He muttered angrily to himself.

“Haley? Haley? Come on babe you need to wake up because I don’t know the American emergency number….Haley?!” Niall’s heart started to race as she failed to respond to his pleading, and he cursed himself again for not paying attention to the first-aid classes in school. He _really_ wished he had paid attention when they had first-aid classes now.

He gently adjusted his hold on her, so he was carrying her like a baby. Slowly, ever so slowly, Niall placed her on the ground, partly so she wouldn’t fall or something when she woke up and partly to buy him time until she  _did_  wake up. He knelt beside her; his mouth going dry and his pulse pounding in his ears, he desperately scanned her face for any signs of consciousness, but it was to no avail. He saw no change in her unusually pale face.

“Wake up Haley! Please, please, please,  _please_ …”

Niall frantically racked his brain, trying to remember a situation similar to this one on TV that could help him. The only thing he could come with, though, was  _Sleeping Beauty_.

Niall wonder if Prince Charming ever felt this ridiculous because he felt like anything  _but_  a prince. He thought he looked like more of a creepy guy taking advantage of a helpless girl than royalty saving a damsel in distress.

He knew the idea was a stupid one, but it was the only one he could think of, and Niall was  _seriously_  getting desperate.

“Um I’m really sorry for doing this, but I promise I’m not gonna rape you.” He didn’t really know why he was still talking to her, so he leaned over, bracing and hating himself for what he was about to do.

Right as his lips were a hair’s breadth from hers though, another idea popped into his head. Before he could think about it long enough to talk himself out of it, Niall leaned back and slapped Haley hard across the face.

“Holy crap what did I just do…Niall Horan you are a douchebag…oh God….” He was about to curse himself even more when Haley’s eyes suddenly flew open and she gasped, life rushing back into her cheeks.

She blinked several times and slowly brought a hand to the side of her face that was bright red from his smack. “Ouch. Niall! That hurt….”

A monumental wave of relief washed over him as she weakly tried to yell at him and sit up at the same time. Without thinking about what he was doing, Niall stopped her attempt to stand by hugging her hard against his chest, cradling her head and burying his face in her hair and neck. She smelled like sugar cookies and he breathed in deeply, pretending it was from relief and not because he wanted to smell her for the rest of his life. Because that would be creepy.

 “Oh thank  _God_.” Niall muttered, his voice cracking from the stress he had been under for the last few minutes. “You about scared the living daylights out of me girl!  _Please_ don’t do that again!”

She was silent for a beat and then…

“I’m about to frappin do it again if you keep holding me like this, Niall.”

“Oh! Right. Sorry.” He awkwardly helped her up and back into her chair before realizing what she had said. “…frappin?”

Haley blushed and mumbled, “It’s a southern thing.”

Niall grinned, “Of course. So do you need anything? Water? Food?”  He was practically hovering over her, and Haley was torn between irritation, exasperation, and an intense, warm pleasure.

“Er…some food would be nice but—NIALL!! You don’t even know where you’re going!” Haley yelled at him as he rushed out the doors without a backwards glance.

***

Haley sighed and muttered to herself, “That boy is gonna get himself mobbed and it will be my fault. Good Lord every teenage girl with internet connection will hate me…”

A second later she realized that he wouldn’t be mobbed when the  _blasted_  ‘pop’ and smell of mangoes broke the silence. This time he fell in a heap right next to her, shouting a few choice words when he hit the cheap carpet.

“Nice of you drop in again.”

Haley grinned as Niall glared up at her from the floor, keeping eye contact with her as he slowly stood up. Haley’s eyes widened as his expression changed, turning serious and _something_  else, though she didn’t know what it was.

She blinked, trying to clear her head of the blue of his eyes. She wanted to take advantage of their time together and she didn’t want to spend half of it just drooling at him. She cleared her throat and smiled slightly, “So KFC delivers….”

She hoped he would get the hint and his face was blank for a second before he realized what their conversation was about before he did his little magic trick.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah that sounds good! Er—could you? I don’t…”

Haley laughed at him, already reaching for the phone, “Don’t worry I have them on speed-dial.”

After Haley ordered enough fried chicken to give them both heart attacks, Niall reached for a random book and sat on the ground with it, flipping through its old and crinkled pages. “I don’t even know how to say this…magia coowaydum nigg—what  _is_  this book?”

Haley grinned, amused at how scandalized Niall looked, “Its Latin and its  _Magia Quaedam Nigerrimus_. It means  _A Very Black Magic_.”

Niall shook his head, muttering, “black magic…”

Haley sat down next to him, “Well that is where the word came from, and you can’t blame some 600 year old alchemist for naming his book something that sounds like a racial slur to us.”

Niall looked at Haley with an odd expression on his face, and Haley hoped there wasn’t a booger hanging from her nose because that is  _just_  what she needed to ruin the moment.

“Uh…do I have something on my face?” she asked, not quite sure if she liked his scrutiny or not.

“What? Oh! Sorry, it’s just that you’re  _really_  smart.”

Haley grinned and blushed again, “It’s not that big of a deal, I took Latin in middle school and I just know a lot of useless random facts.”

Niall looked unconvinced and after  _Magia Quaedam Nigerrimus_  failed to keep his (admittedly very short) attention, he set it aside and situated himself on the floor, spreading out marvelously and looking  _way_  to sexy for Haley’s liking.

It was official. She hated Niall Horan. _Really_ what was the point if he was just going to be a tease? Her mouth practically watered when he stretched his hands behind his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Do we actually have to read this stuff  _right now_? Can we, like, wait a little? Until the food comes maybe? Until then we can just chill and talk and stuff.” Haley was nodding her head in agreement up until he said ‘and stuff,’ and winked deliciously at her and it really just made Haley want to tackle him then and there. She stopped nodding and jerked her head a little, not sure how to respond, but eventually said, “I’m a master at procrastinating so we can definitely just chill.”

“Well then why don’t you come down here and join me?”

The question was innocent enough, Haley guessed, but Niall’s eyes were sparkling just a little too much, and his smile was slightly wider than it should have been. Despite that, Haley positioned herself so that she was shoulder-to-shoulder with him. They weren’t actually touching shoulders, of course, Haley wanted to have some intelligent conversation after all, but she could feel his heat radiating off of him and it was the most bizarre thing she’d ever experienced.

“So.” He said simply after a couple minutes of silence.

“So.”

“Are you on your period?”

Haley almost chocked in shock and from laughter, but managed to say, “ _Wow_  what an ice-breaker. My dad doesn’t even ask me that and he’s known me my whole life.”

Haley looked over at him and was pleased to see him turning red, “uh…well I—erm…I’m sorry it just kinda slipped out. I was trying to think of a question and that was the first thing that popped in my head.”

“No, that’s okay. And no, if you really wanted to know. Do you have any other slightly inappropriate questions to ask me? Just keep in mind who you’re talking to, though. I am still naive.”

Niall chuckled, “Hmmm…okay…oh! What is your favorite type of duck?”

Haley waited for a second, wanting to make sure she heard him right. “I’m guessing these ask-them-as-they-pop-in-your-head questions will be completely random and strange?”

“Yeah it looks like it….sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“Uh, well Mallard I guess. That’s the only kind I know anyway, if you don’t count the ugly duckling. And just to let you know, one mispronunciation and this could’ve turned into an entirely different conversation.”

“Don’t tempt me, Haley.” Niall said, his eyes crinkling, “Favorite Hobbit?”

Haley smiled widely, “Ah now you’re talking! I’ve always been very fond of Pippin.”

“Any particular reason why?”

Haley shrugged, “I guess he was like me. He’s short and likes to eat a lot. He never really got used to being at war and was always in love with the Shire. He was also hilarious and had a cute accent so….yeah…” Haley trailed off, too embarrassed to talk about her turn-ons in front of Niall.

“Nice.” He said, oblivious to her discomfort, “What about your favorite sport?”

“Easy. Soccer all the way. Or, football as you call it.”

Niall’s eyes lit up a little, “Team?”

Haley faltered, not wanting to look like an ignorant American in front of someone who knew so much about the sport, “Ummm well I thought you meant  _playing_  and not _watching_  so…..”

“Ah, I see. Well I’m gonna have to take you to one of the Derby games back home because they are sick. Everyone gets so into it it’s mental.”

Haley paused, “Wait what does that mean? I’m going back with you? To England?”

Niall’s face registered the same understanding she had come to a few seconds before, “Oh… I dunno. I could pay for it if you—I mean um…cause I have work and they’ll be looking for me and…uh…” He drifted off awkwardly.

Haley sighed. She knew they’d have to face the problem of their Siamese (or was it conjoined?) twin-ness sooner or later, but she’d just rather it be later. “Listen, Niall, can we just talk about that some other time, like when I actually introduce you to my parents? I’d rather procrastinate on that issue too, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh yeah! Yeah of course. I think the chicken’s here anyway.” Niall swiftly stood up and reached down to take Haley’s hand to help her as well. When she saw the boy in front of the counter awkwardly holding a humongous bucket of fried chicken, Haley burst out, “Oh hey Roger! You can just leave it on the counter, thanks. And here’s your money, have a nice day!”

Niall looked at the rapidly retreating back of the gangly teenager, and said softly, “Is he always like that?”

“Who, Roger? Oh yeah. He’s been coming here as the delivery guy for like three months and still hasn’t said a word to me. It’s kind of unsettling. But I always try to be nice to him.” Haley turned back to look at Niall, only to see him sitting with the bucket in his lap on the floor again, a thigh already in his mouth.

“Well you don’t waste any time do you?”

“Don’t want it to get cold now do I? C’mon dig in.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> SHIRTLESS NIALL IN YO BED WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL WANT.


End file.
